Carrie’s Sweet Life

I love baking cookies, I really do. They are rather simple you can freeze the dough, you can make a half a batch, you can send with friends and family and keep some for yourself.

I missed having a cookie recipe to make last month, but this month cookie carnival was back in full swing, as soon as I saw these cookies I was excited to make them. I left out the cheeries as neither of us love them, I used white chocolate in it’s place. They were WONDERFUL!

Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Toffee and Cherries (From: In the Sweet Kitchen, Regan Daley)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plump, moist, dried sour cherries (I omitted)
• 8 oz. bitter or semisweet chocolate chopped into chunks about the size of the cherries (I used white chocolate)
• 1 cup English toffee pieces for baking such as Skor Bits

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two heavy baking sheets, not non-stick with parchment paper and set aside. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light in colour and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour-mixture in 3 additions, blending just until the dry ingredients are moistened. This part is really easier with a wooden spoon since the batter is quite dense. The dough may be frozen at this point for up to 4 months; wrap securely in plastic wrap, then in a plastic freezer bag; thaw in the refrigerator without removing its wrapping before portioning the cookies and baking.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets and place them in the centre of the oven, turning half way through baking.

Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes (mine were done in 18 minutes) or until barely set in the centre and just firm around the edges. Cool cookies on tray for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before storing. Store in air tight containers, layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper for up to 5 days.

Adam is on the fun committee at work, he came home a few weeks back saying they were going to be hosting a superbowl pot luck, and the committee was going to supply pop, ham, and cookies. They were purchase the cookies, I offered to make the cookies. They happy accepted.

I was asked to make 8 dozen cookies, I deiced to make five different cookie recipes trying to take in everyone’s tastes… well I over estimated and ended up with 17.3 dozen cookies, and all but about a dozen were eaten… I guess they were good.

Box One of the cookies

In this box are M & M cookies, Chocolate Chunk and Oatmeal Raisin.

Box two of cookies

Lemon, Football Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodle.

To make this not a horrible task I made a few batches every night and froze the dough into balls, and baked the sugar cookies Wed so they could be frosted Thursday. This was the perfect way to make this many cookies.

My least favorite cookie is oatmeal raisin or so I thought. I whipped these to add to the boxes and tasted the dough and it was amazing and tasted the baked one and really enjoy it, so maybe these aren’t my least favorite.

I used the recipe on the back of the Quaker oats box and it was very tasty, and these were very moist cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (From: Quaker)

• 1/2  pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
• 1  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1  cup raisins

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

I have had these starred in my reader forever! I was glad to finally have a reason to make these. I must admit I didn’t get to try one of these by the time they were done baking I had a belly ache from too much cookie dough. So I just boxed them up and sent them. But Adam said everyone who took one enjoyed it and there was only one or two left.

I guess I will have to make them again so I can try them!

Lemon Butter Cookies (From: Paved with Good Intentions)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• sugar for sprinkling

Using an electric mixture, mix butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy.

Add egg until batter is fluffy.

Mix in flour, lemon juice and zest, baking powder and salt. Mold dough into log on wax paper. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 350.

Unwrap dough and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Transfer to ungreased non-stick cookie sheet. Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

You can’t make a bunch of cookies without making sugar cookies they just go, and since I made them for a superbowl party I decided to make them into little footballs. My brown frosting wasn’t as dark as I would of liked but it worked.

I used this sugar cookie recipe. But used the recipe below for frosting them. This was my first time working with royal icing and it was very easy to use, and I like how hard it gets and sets.

Royal Icing (From: Wilton)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners’ sugar
• 6 tablespoons warm water

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.